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Maryland governor seeks to repeal death penalty

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- The governor announced Tuesday that his administration intends to introduce legislation to repeal Maryland's death penalty.

Gov. Martin O'Malley declared capital punishment expensive, saying it doesn't work and that he has the assurance that the measure has enough votes for passage in the General Assembly.

"Later this week, I will be filing legislation to repeal the death penalty," O'Malley said.

The governor's declaration was met with jubilation from death penalty opponents.

"The death penalty was broken from birth because, in this country, it began as lynching," said Benjamin Jealous, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which has a nationwide goal to repeal capital punishment and replace it with life in prison without parole.

Last month, Jealous cut a deal with the governor that if they came up with enough votes for passage, then the governor would get on board. Jealous got 21 signatures from members of the Senate in addition to verbal commitments from several others. Twenty-four votes are needed for passage.

"This bill is the most important bill of our lives. It is a civil rights issue of 2013, but most importantly, it is a bill that helps us as a community move forward," said Baltimore City Sen. Lisa Gladden, D-District 41.

Senate President Mike Miller, who supports the death penalty, vowed to get the repeal bill out of committee, where it has stalled for years.

The governor hasn't made repeal part of his legislative agenda after it failed in 2009, when the Senate re-wrote the bill, tightening standards of evidence in order for prosecutors to bring a capital case. Opponents said the money could better spent.

The governor said the money would be better spent on "investing in law enforcement, investing in data-driven policing, investing in making drug treatment more available."

In 2006, Maryland's highest court ruled that the state didn't properly adopt protocols to carry out capital punishment. New rules are still not in place, which, in effect, has produced a de-facto moratorium, but opponents said that's not good enough and that a repeal would ensure that the death penalty will not be carried out.

"The next big celebration will be at the bill signing," said Baltimore City Delegate Sandy Rosenberg, D-District 41.

The Senate president predicted passage will not end the debate. A recent poll finds 48 percent of voters support the death penalty and 42 percent favor a repeal.

"If it does pass, it will go to referendum and it will be a very close vote," Miller said.

"I don't fear the judgment of the people of Maryland," O'Malley said.

The governor had tremendous success with ballot questions in November. A poll commissioned by The Baltimore Sun found 48 percent of voters support the death penalty while 42 percent want it abolished.

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